This invention relates to network control and particularly to local area network (LAN) control. In greater particularity, this invention has application to a classroom environment wherein the master device under control of a human supervisor, such as an instructor or test proctor, is able to custom configure slave devices for a particular teaching environment and even temporarily limit selected functionality and access of slave devices.
As computers become more integrated into the educational environment as a teaching and a learning tool, greater use can be made of their unique capabilities to provide collaborative learning and instantaneous feedback. An instructor can broadcast information from a central or teaching node and each student can accept information from the teaching node and provide responses at their learning nodes to demonstrate understanding of concepts conveyed by the instructor. There is a growing recognition of the programmed learning method as an effective pedagogical tool. A typical configuration is a quiz or a test wherein questions are posed by a teacher and responded to by students via an interactive network.
Heretofore, generalized network control systems and configurations have not been developed which are sufficiently adaptable to control the level of information access typically desired in a pedagogical environment. It is desirable for example, in order to promote teaching and learning, to temporarily limit student access to resources otherwise readily accessible via computer telecommunication links or in stored files resident on the local computer storage elements. If computers are to be effectively used to assess understanding and collect student-produced information, then a mechanism must be provided to limit access to the notes of others and assembled information.
It is also desirable to provide a mechanism for customizing teaching environments on a location, a subject matter or on an instructor-tailored basis. Whenever a student computer is brought into a classroom, it is desirable for that computer to be configured for the specific class as soon as it is logged onto the network of the specific room or segment of the network identified with a particular lesson. Still further it is desirable to limit or otherwise manage the student computers to which a particular teacher's computer controls during a particular period in order to minimize conflicts with other computers which may be logged onto the network, particularly where there is no mechanism for segmenting the network to a defined geographic location. For these and other reasons, an enhanced and highly invasive control system is needed in a pedagogical environment.